With You in the Present
by ellionheart96
Summary: One day, Levi bumps into a familiar boy with different coloured eyes. Wild eyes that once shone with pure fire, now beaten into submission. But he had no doubts they belonged to Eren Jäger. Levi will soon find Eren isn't as happy in this life as he had hoped he would be, so he will do everything in his power to give him the peaceful, happy life he deserves. [Reincarnation au]
1. Chapter 1: Eyes

**Chapter ****1: Eyes**

Trost was said to be the town of fairytales. After being reconstructed two thousand years ago, following a heated battle against the titans, the town never changed. Even when all the cities within - and outside - the walls opted for more modern structures over the centuries, Trost never did. It was like frozen in time.

For the romantics, it was the most coveted tourist destination yet to date. People came from all over Paradis and Marley to visit it.

Levi Ackerman, on the other hand, didn't understand all the fussing over it. '_It's just a big ass city with some old ass buildings'_was his usual response to people who told him:

'_you live in Trost? Wow, Trost is so beautiful, you realize how lucky you are?! I wish I lived in Trost!'_

It was undeniable that Trost was a city full of beauties, but after living in the town for over three years, the raven haired man stopped noticing them long ago. Not that he cared much to begin with.

He was now going over some document, containing all the information he had gathered about his next victim.

Surely when he started, he couldn't have imagined his private detective work was going to consist in stalking unfaithful spouses sixty percent of the time. He sure hoped Farlan and Isabel had something more exciting in their hands to work on these days.

Without paying attention to the road ahead of himself, he inevitably bumped into someone. Papers and textbooks scattered on the ground, as well as the person in front of him. Levi however, remained with his feet well seated in the ground. He might have been shorter, but he was better built and definitely stronger than an average high school student.

"Damn, my paperwork!"

"I-I'm so sorry sir!" The boy stammered and started collecting Levi's documents hurriedly, while keeping his look down. Levi just stared at him for a brief moment, something in that messy brown hair felt familiar. Then he kneeled and started collecting the high schooler's textbook.

"Ah, my fault kid, I wasn't looking where I was goi…" Levi remained speechless as their eyes met. He knew those eyes. They were different now; the left one was green and the right one amber, but he knew those eyes. Even if they looked docile and ashamed right now, he had no doubt they belonged to Eren Jäger.

"I'm sorry sir, do my eyes creep you out?" the boy said, while lowering his gaze.

"No, no." Levi got up, and offered him a hand. The boy took it reluctantly.

"Not at all." _What creeps me out is the lack of the fire they once had._ Was the sentence he left unspoken.

"I think these belongs to you, sir." He handed him the papers, still looking down.

"And I believe these are yours." Levi handed him the textbooks, Eren took them hastily, and with a _Thank you, sir_he was gone.

_Was that really you, Eren?_Levi was left wondering as he stared at the boy's slightly hunched back, running away like a scared puppy.

"You've met Eren?! Really? Where? How is he? Does he remember? Is he still the same age? Does he have any birthmarks?" The eccentric chemist's ability to shoot out questions faster than a machine gun was giving the young detective a headache.

"Easy Hanji, I've only seen him for like a minute." he said, then sipped on his black tea. With his friends working elsewhere and his family in another town, these tea dates with Hanji in her office were one of the few likeable social interaction he had these days.

Hanji was the only person he knew from his past life that remembered. She was the only one he could talk to, about things he couldn't talk to anyone about. He just wished she wasn't so enthustiastic about it.

"How is it that I lived in this town way longer than you and you still managed to meet him first?"

"The town is big, And for all we know he could've moved here just recently. He's from Shiganshina, remember?"

"Ah, right. I can't wait to see him again! I hope he remembers too, imagine all the experiments I could do, I mean he was a titan shifter right? It must have affected him in this life too, don't you think?"

"I hope not."

"I hope yes! So where does he live?" she asked, glee and expectation in her eyes.

"Why would I know?"

"At least did you find out what school he attends?"

"No."

Hanji threw her arms in the air, exasperated, "What kind of detective are you?!"

"I'm not stalking the kid, four eyes!"

It was already past midnight when Levi came back to his apartment. Its roominess came in handy when his family came to visit, or when Isabel and Farlan were in town and decided to stay over. But now that he was on his own, it just felt empty. His solitude felt infinite. And solitude was a thing he despised with all his being.

As soon as he let his weight fall dead on the soft mattress, his cellphone ringed. Reading the name _Farlan_put a smile on his tired face.

"Hello?"

"Hey Levi, what's good?"

"I just got home. How 'bout you?"

"I'm driving to the south of Wall Maria right now."

There was a brief moment of silence, in which Farlan could feel Levi's death glare reaching to him, even over the phone.

"…I do hope you're using earbuds right now." He said, in a stern tone.

"Yeah, yeah, of course I am, dad." Farlan joked, trying to lighten up the mood, but Levi was not at all pleased.

"I'm not fucking joking, you moron."

"I know, I swear I put you on the speaker!"

"Then that's good," Levi said, relieved, "got an interesting case?"

"A cold one… I don't think I'll be able to find out too much."

"Homicide?"

"No, a missing person. Happened more than ten years ago, last seen in a place they call…" Farlan wondered what Levi would have said, had the latter known he had taken his eyes off the road to read the name from his documents, "_The Valley of the Wolves,_I think?"

"Then they became wolf's shit long ago. You'll be lucky if you can find their bones by now. Unless it's just someone who doesn't want to be found." Levi suggested.

"Yeah, I doubt that. It was a child."

"Ouch. Then I hope you do find the bones. At least the family will have something to bury."

"Hope so too. Well, gotta go now. Bye."

As soon as Farlan hung up, Levi dialed Isabel's number. It didn't take long before she picked up.

"Big bro!" She exclaimed, enthusiastically.

"Hey, Isabel. Did you make it to Orvud safe?"

"No, I died a few times." Levi laughed softly. He found himself smiling and laughing more often than back in the days, when the titans still roamed on Paradis Island. But still, that green eyed brat was one of the few people who was able to make him laugh genuienly.

"You brat." He still used to call her that affectionately, but Isabel was so not a brat anymore. Being able to see her grown into a smart, beautiful young woman was a blessing Levi could never stop being grateful for.

"How 'bout you, big bro? Got anything interesting on your hands?"

"No, same old boring shit."

"Ah, sorry about that. Well, I gotta go now. I'll call you tomorrow, sleep well!"

"You too. Bye."

Sleep. It was a word that rolled so smoothly on one's tongue. But to Levi, it felt as sharp as knives. He eyed the sleeping pills resting on his bedside table. The farmacist said not to take them everyday, _just when you need it,_he said. Too bad Levi needed it everyday. Without those pills enveloping him in darkness, sleep was just a continuation of his day. His dreams never felt like dreams.

Every single night was always the same. He laid his head on his pillow, closed his eyes, and as soon as morpheus took him, he was there again.

There, on the battlefield. The stench of blood filling his nostrils, chilling screams ringing in his ears. He could feel the ground beneath him shake, or his body flying through the air. He felt Eren's sticky body in his arms, after taking him out of the mouth of the female titan. He felt Eren's hot skin against his own while pulling him out of his own titan. He saw Eren crumbling to the ground, a hand stained with the blood that was gushing from his nose.

Eren.

It wasn't time for sleep yet. Raising himself to a sitting position, he took his laptop and started doing some not work related researches.


	2. Chapter 2: Counterfeit Blue

**Chapter 2: Counterfeit blue**

He told Hanji he wasn't stalking the kid. He told her so. He wasn't going to stalk someone he knew. But he may however have made a research to find all the high schools in close proximity to the place they met the other day. And, as he had expected, he found only one:

Liberty High.

He may also be parked near the entrance of Liberty High right now. Close enough to see who got in or out, but far enough to go unnoticed.

He wasn't stalking anyone. He just wanted to check on Eren.

For what, he did not know. Maybe to make sure he was indeed the same Eren he knew literally a lifetime ago. Maybe to see with his own eyes if life had been generous enough to give him the happy, peaceful life he deserves, like it had done with Levi himself.

He had always been a man of action, and this time too he had let his insticts lead his actions. Levi didn't really give it much thought, as to why he was doing what he was doing.

But if there was something he couldn't stop thinking about, was the look in Eren's eyes. So docile. So meek. Even innocent, he'd dare say.

Was this the product of a peaceful life? With no titans, nothing to fight for, and most of all with freedom in hands right from the start, did Eren's fire never have a reason to be born?

And then he saw him, running just like he had the other day.

"Ereeen! You hopeless sleepyhead! We're gonna be late!" A girl he recognized to be Historia shouted from the school gates, where she and Armin were waiting.

"Sorry guys," He apologize, not even catching his breath, as soon as he arrived in front of them. "I missed the bus. Again."

"Why doesn't that surprise me." Armin teased, though affectionately.

Eren wrapped each of his arms around each of his two best friends, and the trio walked in.

_So he's friend with Armin in this life too_. Levi though, feeling relieved for some reason. _And it looks like Historia took Mikasa's place? What happened with her?_

He decided he had gathered enough information for one day, and left.

The three friends were walking along the corridor side by side, talking about idle things. Until the moment Historia's speech stopped, and she gasped slightly while looking at Eren, as if she noticed something she didn't before.

"What?" He asked, seeing the blonde smile with glee in her dilated pupils.

"Eren, your eyes…" she didn't need to say another word for Eren to understand.

"Oh shit, I forgot my contacts again, didn't I?" The brunet searched frantically in his backpack for the spare pair he always carried around.

"C'mon, you know you don't need 'em." Armin said, but he knew it was useless. Eren had already pulled his spare pair out of his backpack, and was on his way to the bathrooms when he suddenly stopped.

"Shit!" He immediately turned around.

"Eren…?" Historia and Armin both had a puzzled expression.

"I'll use the bathroom on the second floor." The brunet's explanation was not enough for the blonde pair, who took a look in the opposite direction. All their queries dissipated when they saw Jean standing near the bathroom door.

"You can't avoid him forever, you know…"

"Go to class without me, guys, I'll join you when I'm done." He said and took off, completely ignoring Armin's comment.

Historia sighed, as they watched him walking away with his head down, which caused him to bump into several people.

Class had started for more than half an hour when Eren finally showed up. The teacher berated him, but took no further action, and Eren could go take his place at the desk between Sasha and Historia. On the way there, he heard a few people whispering about the teacher making favouritism. He couldn't do anything but sigh, he was used to it after all, considering who is father was. And besides, he couldn't start a fight right there.

"What took you so long?" Historia asked, as he took his seat.

"One of my contacts fell off and I couldn't find it."

Meanwhile, Sasha was busy arranging her pencil case and her book on her desk, in a way that would make the book stand up by itself. Her tongue was sticking out, her forehead wrinkling in concentration. Once she managed to find a balance, and her 'fort' looked stable enough, she took out all of her snacks from her bag and poured them on her desk. From the seat in front of Eren, Armin looked at her with apprehension.

"Sasha, you're gonna get in trouble again…" Armin whispered to her, but the girl waved her hand dismissively.

"There's no way the teacher can catch me this time." She whispered back, overconfident.

But their old literature teacher was far way too used to her antics, and noticed something was off right away.

"Hiding something behind there, miss Braus?" She asked, while walking toward her desk.

"N-Nothing!"

"Really? Then I guess you'll have no problem putting your book down, will you?"

"I won't," Sasha bluffled, "but why should I? It looks fine where it is, and plus I like reading like this."

"Braus. Take that book down, right now." The teacher ordered, and the teen had no other choice but to put the book away, revealing her rich loot that consisted of candies, potato chips and other snacks.

"Mmh, what do we have here? Lots of junk food, how surprising," She said before picking them up one by one. "These are confiscated. You'll have them back when it's time to go home."

"What!" Sasha voiced her malcontent, but there was nothing she could do, so she slammed her face on her desk, whimpering silently, "But what am I supposed to eat until then?" she whined.

Once the teacher had her back to them, Eren stealthily took a chocolate bar from his backpack and slipped it in Sasha's bag. When the girl noticed, her face lightened up, honey eyes shining as she blew a couple of kisses in his direction, to which he replied with a small smile.

It was time to go home. Eren was walking along the corridor by himself, since Armin was busy with club activities and Historia had a date with Ymir. He on the other hand, had to get to his workplace.

He had almost done it to the exit when he saw Jean talking to Marco. Lowering his head, he accelerated his pacing as he walked past them, in the hope that Jean would not notice him.

"Hold on a sec. Eren!" _Dammit__!_ Eren thought, hearing the taller boy's footsteps approacching.

"Eren! Eren, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sorry, I have my shift at the shop, I need to go." He said, without stopping, and never lifting his gaze from the ground.

"It'll be just a minute, please."

"I really can't."

"Oh, c'mon! Dina won't get mad if you get there 5 minutes later."

Eren just kept walking, and that was the last straw. Jean grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to stop. And even then, the boy refused to look at him in the eyes.

"For fuck's sake, Eren! Look at me! Talk to me!" He forcefully pulled him closer, the action was so sudden and rapid that it almost made Eren lose his balance.

"I'M SO SICK OF YOU IGNORING ME!" He yelled, and the room fell suddenly quiet. "HOW LONG WILL YOU KEEP DOING THIS TO ME?!" Eren's head was hanging low, shoulder raised in a vain attempt to protect himself from the yelling. His hand was on Jean's, trying to free himself from his grasp. Once a single tear rolled down his cheek, Jean's eyebrows raised in realization. His pupils constricted, mouth left ajar. Blinded by his own rage, the boy hadn't realized how vehement he had been, and what it meant for Eren. Finally, he loosened his grip on the shorter boy's arm.

And it was then that the brunet finally looked at him into the eyes. And what Jean saw behind the counterfeit blue of his eyes was confusion, followed by fear, and most of all, betrayal.

"He makes me sick…" Someone among the crowd whispered, and it was only then that he noticed that several eyes were set on them both.

"The fuck are you all looking at, huh?!" Jean burst out, directing his rage at the crowd instead. The brunet didn't waste this opportunity and fled.

"Eren no, wait!" Before he could go after him, he heard someone clearing his throat behind him.

"Care to explain what's going on here, Kirschtein?" The boy turned around to see a tall, blonde man with his arms crossed, looking at him with a grim expression.

"P-Principal Smith!" He stammered out.

"Maybe we should talk about it in my office."

"But I-"

"Now, Kirschtein."

He reluctantly followed the headmaster into his office. He could feel the people in the corridor still staring at him. And having their judging eyes on him felt like a thousand needles piercing his skin.


End file.
